The province should scrap its new system for allocating wind power sites on Crown land, NDP Leader Howard Hampton says.

"They should stop it now and start over with a process that's fair," Hampton said in an interview yesterday, after the Star reported the "winner-take-all" format might let Toronto-based SkyPower Corp. tie up the best remaining sites on provincial land, as well offshore sites in lakes Ontario, Huron and Erie.

"This is a public resource, a natural resource, and they've created a process by which whoever has the financial resources and can get there first, gets it all," Hampton said.

Most wind power sites should be kept in public hands to be developed on a not-for-profit basis, as the hydroelectric power resources were in the last century, he said.

"If they're going to turn it over, the process must be one that doesn't result in the creation of a monopoly. You're not supposed to give public assets to one or two private companies to make them rich."

A spokesperson for Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield rejected Hampton's demand.

The policy was developed in consultation with the Canadian Wind Energy Association and doesn't guarantee any one company access to the wind power sites, the spokesperson said. Every application must be assessed and approved.

The ministry opened applications for Crown sites at 8 a.m. on Feb. 20, on a first-come, first-served basis at its Peterborough office. Back in January, it dropped a rule limiting applications to three per company.

SkyPower had people in line five days ahead of time and filed a large number of applications that rivals estimate would cover most of the viable wind sites on Crown land.

Hampton noted that SkyPower donated $5,000 to the governing Liberals last year. It didn't contribute to the Tories or NDP, according to Elections Ontario records.

SkyPower president Kerry Adler said last night he was surprised by Hampton's position. "I question people who question the concept of fairness when the rules are clear. I fail to see the lack of fairness."